“

Don’t tell me that you have never forgotten your mother is your mother. Her skin, yours. Her laugh, yours. Her hair, yours. Her soul, yours.

“

What I want most for you in this life is for you to love yourself unconditionally.

“

The world can be cold, dark, and lonely; don’t let it be through you that she learns those lessons.

“

You will always have me.

“

You make sure that someone is worth the trouble before allowing yourself to grow attached to them, because you realize most people would only be a waste of your time. 

“

From the first moment I knew you were growing inside of me, I felt connected to your beautiful spirit.

“

I’m slowly learning that I will never feel alone ever again because I am the mother to a daughter and that will never change. As far as realizations go, this is both liberating and terrifying.

“

Be with him as long as it makes you happy. But — and this is important, kid — don’t worry about “supposed to” and don’t worry about the rest of your life. You have plenty of it.

“

Against my better judgment, I’ve always held out hope you’d come around; wishing that one day you’d suddenly want to be a key part of my life and show me the love I so desperately craved.

“

Because the greatest sign of a respect a daughter can have towards her father is ending up with someone who is half the man he is.